Final handshake for Rex Ryan?

By Ben Shpigel, New York Times

Published 9:51 pm, Sunday, December 21, 2014

East Rutherford, N.J.

When it was over, Rex Ryan met his nemesis, Bill Belichick, at midfield. Their relationship is cordial, Ryan has said, but it is also complicated — all those New England victories and division titles over the last six seasons have something to do with that.

Maybe someday they will have a beer or two together. Ryan, in a lighter moment last week, said he would like that. But he was not in much of a mood to discuss his social plans late Sunday afternoon, after Belichick's Patriots edged his New York Jets, 17-16, for the seventh time in the teams' last eight meetings.

The two coaches shared a quick handshake and awkward embrace, and off they went. As they drew close, Ryan may have said something to Belichick. Or Belichick may have said something to Ryan.

"I don't remember," Ryan said.

Give him the benefit of the doubt, but the man has encyclopedic recall. He has never forgotten, and very likely never will, how the Patriots won by 2 points in October, by 3 last September, by 30 on Thanksgiving night 2013, by 3 in overtime two Octobers ago, and so on.

As the Patriots dashed to their 10th victory in 11 games and a first-round bye, the 3-12 Jets are wheezing toward the end of the season and, probably, Ryan's final week as coach. His reign could be distilled into one sentence: He never did dethrone New England. Including a postseason victory in 2011, Ryan went 4-9 against the Patriots. Their six consecutive AFC East titles — the second-longest streak in NFL history — coincide with Ryan's six seasons as coach.

"I think you look at them, that guy does a hell of a job," Ryan said of Belichick. "There's no denying that. They make big plays at big times."

So they did again Sunday.

Jamie Collins' third-quarter interception led to Jonas Gray's go-ahead touchdown. Dont'a Hightower's 10-yard sack of Geno Smith, on third-and-4 from the New England 24, increased the degree of difficulty for Nick Folk, whose go-ahead 52-yard field-goal attempt was tipped by Vince Wilfork and fell short. Brandon Bolden's 8-yard rush gave the Patriots the first down they needed to run out the clock and send the Jets spiraling to more misery.

Ryan concocted a defensive game plan that limited the Patriots to 231 yards, the fewest in his 13 games against them as the Jets' coach, and drew praise from both locker rooms.

"We know how much this game meant to us," Jets safety Calvin Pryor said when asked about Ryan's message to the team.

There was no official acknowledgment of Ryan's precarious job security, of course. No tribute video or highlight montage, and Ryan said he did not take any mental snapshots as he retreated into the tunnel and strode into a future uncertain beyond next week's finale at Miami.

When he took his place behind the lectern for what could have been his final time at MetLife Stadium, Ryan lamented how close the Jets were, how close they have been, losing three of their last four games with New England by a total of 6 points, and yet they are still so far.

Ryan came to New York to unseat Belichick. He tried. But, it seems, he never will.